First Takasaki Endowed Professor selected at School of Social Work

Dr. Colette Browne has been named the UH Mānoa Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work’s first Takasaki Endowed Professor of Social Policy. The professorship is supported through the Richard S. and T. Rose Takasaki Endowment Fund, which was established for the purpose of enhancing the scholarly and research activities of the chair holder. It is awarded on the basis of scholarly achievement in the field of social policy.

Said Dean Noreen Mokuau, “I know that Dr. Browne will fulfill Richard and Rose Takasaki’s legacy to advance social justice and social policy in ways that benefit our students, our communities, and the global enterprise.”

Dr. Browne holds advanced degrees in social work, public health and educational psychology. The Professor of Social Work has been on the faculty at the School of since 1985. She currently serves as the chair of the gerontology concentration in the school’s Master of Social Work program and has taught social policy courses in the school’s BSW, MSW and PhD levels.

Dr. Browne is Principal Investigator for the federally funded Ha Kūpuna, National Resource Center for Native Hawaiian Elders, Administration on Community Living/Administration on Aging, and has secured research grants and contracts with entities such as the State of Hawai‘i Executive Office on Aging and the Hawai‘i Medical Service Association Foundation. She has won numerous awards from the University of Hawai‘i and national and community organizations for her teaching, research and community service.

She has published extensively in the area of gerontology with a focus on meeting the needs of vulnerable elder populations and their families through equitable long-term care health-care policies. She is currently Vice Chair of the Oʻahu Regional Health Care Board and sits on national boards such as the American Society on Aging and the National Indigenous Elder Justice Center.

"It is an honor, a privilege and a responsibility to be appointed to the Richard S. and T. Rose Takasaki Endowed Professorship in Social Policy," said Dr. Browne. "The Takasakis were role models for their community work on behalf of Hawai`i’s citizens. Their generosity will allow me and my colleagues to examine policy questions related to equity-related concerns of diverse groups in the United States. With the assistance of colleagues and students at UHM, we pledge to meet Mr. and Mrs. Takasaki’s vision through collaborative and interdisciplinary research, conferences, and teaching.”